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Equatorial Guinea has launched fresh legal action against France at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a renewed dispute over a lavish mansion in Paris that was seized by French authorities.
The West African nation submitted the case to the UN’s highest court on Friday, requesting urgent measures to prevent France from selling the property.
The building, located on Avenue Foch—one of the most prestigious streets in Paris near the Arc de Triomphe—has been at the centre of a long-running diplomatic and legal tug-of-war between the two countries.
The mansion, reportedly worth over €100 million and featuring luxury amenities such as a private cinema, marble and gold fittings, and a hammam, was confiscated following the conviction of Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President Teodorin Obiang. French courts found him guilty under laws designed to combat illicit wealth amassed by foreign officials.
In 2021, France’s highest appeal court upheld Obiang’s conviction, handing him a three-year suspended prison sentence along with a €30 million fine.
Alongside the prison term and monetary penalty, French authorities also seized numerous assets, including the opulent Avenue Foch residence.
Now, Equatorial Guinea claims that French police re-entered the building in June, changing the locks on several doors. In a complaint dated July 3 and released by the ICJ on Friday, the country requested that France be compelled to provide “immediate, full, and unrestricted access” to the property.
The filing forms the latest chapter in an ongoing legal and diplomatic row that has seen the two nations clash repeatedly over the status and ownership of the residence, which Equatorial Guinea claims enjoys diplomatic protection.
The court has yet to confirm when it will review the case or whether it will grant the provisional measures requested.
